5 Instant Feel Good Hacks fit for a Pandemic

Are you feeling a bit meh? Don’t worry you are not alone. These Covid stricken times are proving extremely tricky to navigate (if we can even call it that) and let’s admit it is making us all feel pretty rubbish and in need of a pick me up.

Well look no further, these five hacks will get you on your way to feeling good (we are optimistic) or slightly better at least during this pandemic. Please, don’t panic though no deep thinking or critical self-evaluation will be necessary (we’ll save that for another day), these are just five very simple, tried and tested mood boosters.

5 Tried and Tested Feel Good Hacks

Walking

The old faithful walk works wonders, it’s true. It doesn’t need to be miles, although a hike in the countryside is always welcomed (just make sure you are following government guidelines) but a short half-hour (if that) work in the fresh air can often feel like pressing the reset button. Reconnecting with nature in this way is great for the mind and helps calm anxious thoughts.

To fully reap the benefits of the simple walk, why not try and make it digital free? If you can, leave your phone at home or at least leave it in your pocket and forget about it for the entirety of your walk. A digital detox of this sort allows you to physically distance yourself from the tsunami of bad news constantly clogging up your social media feeds. Trust us, for that half-hour things will almost (we say this very lightly) feel normal.  

If, on your walk, you need a little extra company and you own a dog be sure to take them with you. Besides from the extra love you will receive, taking your dog with you is great motivation to get you outside in the first place. If you don’t, no problem, ask a friend or family member to join you, socially distanced of course (if that is still allowed, at the time of writing we are in tier 2 of restrictions). A good walk and a catch up is a win-win feel-good situation, just the thought has got us smiling.

Treat yourself to something delicious.

Be gone with your make do freezer tea and make way for something completely delicious. It can be something healthy or a guilty pleasure (just remember everything in moderation)  as long as it is super tasty and makes you feel good then it meets the criteria. It doesn’t even have to be a meal, maybe a snack or a drink will suffice, this hack is completely open to your interpretation so the choice is yours. 

If you’re perhaps in need of a greater mood booster then why not even try cooking something from scratch. Taking it to the next level by sharing your hard work with the rest of your household or even your neighbours via a  Covid-19 safe Tupperware drop off, of course. A small act of kindness in this way not only makes you feel good, but it may also make someone else’s day and in these crazy times a random act of kindness goes a long way.

Escape

Unfortunately, when we say escape we don’t mean jetting out of the country, although we can dream. What we mean is, escaping into an all-encompassing feel-good experience in the form of your favourite book. TV show or hobby. Basically, anything that brings you joy and is Covid-19 friendly. 

We recommend the type of TV shows and books which feel like a warm hug, easy watching/ reading is the key here (maybe avoid that dark mystery for now). For the perfect mood booster why not even try and find a book/TV show which has you laughing uncontrollably. These are the perfect escape because even when laughing jut a tiny bit it can make us feel so much better, it works every time for us. 

Have a hobby? Great, delve into that for an hour or two for no other reason than just because you can. If you don’t, give something a go. You don’t have to be an expert in it after your first attempt despite what your Instagram feed may look like. As a taster we suggest escaping into doing something creative, it can be anything a quick doodle session, tie-dying old clothes or learning to play the bagpipes. Perhaps not the latter, but who knows you might have always wanted to learn. Our advice, is be brave and even if you’ve had the slightest desire to try something (it might even be a desire way back from your childhood) have a go, as long as you find joy in it then that is all that matters. You never know you might discover a new passion project, you might not too and that is completely fine.

Clean a specific space. 

Love or loathe the actual cleaning process, the results make it all worthwhile and are sure to put a spring in your step. After all, a tidy space leads to a tidy mind. Although extremely tempting, we feel it is important to resist the urge of attacking your whole home with a feather duster and bin bag. Instead, focus on a manageable space which you will be able to clean and tidy within your allocated time frame. Otherwise, this feel-good hack will become a mission of perseverance and result in you become highly demotivated, and no one needs any added stress during this time.

A bit by bit approach will not only be attainable but also highly rewarding, as the process will provide you with a great sense of accomplishment and in turn keep you motivated for future cleaning sprees. It might not be the feel-good hack you expected but it is one which works. Even if it doesn’t make you feel completely joyful at the very least you will have a sparkling clean space which Mrs Hinch would be proud of

Listen to your favourite music.

The ultimate mood-boosting hack and a firm favourite for all at Feel Good Do Good, listening to our favourite songs. Play them loud and completely lose yourself. We are talking full concert mode here because a good sing-song and dance have never failed to cheer us up. 

To get the most out of your musical mood-booster we suggest avoiding the presence of any sad songs. Instead, try an uplifting playlist, Spotify have loads of great options for you to try (we recommend Happy Hits!). Alternatively, if you prefer you can also curate your own feel-good playlist full of all your favourites. Which could be a feel-good hack in itself. 

Level up this mood-boosting hack one step further by listening to your favourite music whilst completing the other feel-good hacks we’ve talked about. It might even provide the motivation you require to get that cleaning started in the first place.

So, there we have it our 5 instant feel-good hacks fit for a pandemic. Remember no matter how small the action may seem don’t underestimate its ability to lift your mood and put a smile on your face. During this extremely difficult time, we would also like to draw attention to the fact that it is OK to not feel good all the time as that would be an impossible ask now or ever in fact. We just want this to be your friendly reminder to be kind to yourself and to make time for your mental wellbeing. Hopefully, these feel-good hacks will help you on your way to achieving exactly that. 

Be sure to let us know how you got on and what your go-to feel-good hacks are.